IOn the evening of Monday, July 18, 1994, Harry, and Sirius were alone in Harry's bedroom talking when Harry received a letter from Hogwarts.

"Open it, " said Sirius eagerly, "Remus promised the letter would explain more of the upcoming changes at Hogwarts. I'm very interested to know what those changes are and I'm sure you're excited to know what those changes are."

"Yes, " piped up Harry a nanosecond later as he unfurled the Hogwarts letter.

It read:

Dear Mr. Potter-

"As you set to embark on another year at Hogwarts, it is my great pleasure to reveal more of the changes coming to Hogwarts this upcoming school year. First, Hogwarts will be adding a choir and an accompanying band. I received a letter from Harry Potter requesting that Hogwarts start a choir owing to his desire to create an opportunity for his close friend Ginny Weasley, who has incredible singing talent. Mr. Potter reasoned that the musically gifted deserved the opportunity to hone their craft just as much as the magically, athletically, and literarily gifted. Mr. Potter is quite right on that point, but singing is only part of musical talent. It became clear to me that those gifted with musical instruments also deserved the opportunity to hone their craft and so I added a band to accompany the choir. In some cases, the choir or band will perform on its own and in others they will combine their talents. Tryouts for both will be held sometime in the second or third week of term. Once more firm dates have been decided, announcements will be placed on all four houses common room notice boards. Starting with this year, students in second year will be allowed to visit Hogsmeade during Hogsmeade weekends. The reality of the matter is that younger students appreciate these visits more than older students. In fact, owning to the novelty wearing off as they grow older, many sixth and seventh year students skip all of the Hogsmeade visits those last two years. We are not taking anything away. Older students in sixth and seventh years who still do want to partake in Hogsmeade weekends still may. But as Hogsmeade weekends have always appealed more to younger students and had a much higher participation rate from students below sixth year, we are now affording second years the opportunity to participate in Hogsmeade weekends. Professor Binns has been sacked and an actual living person has been hired to teach History of Magic. While Professor Binns has a vast of knowledge about magical history, I as headmaster cannot in good conscience retain Professor Binns when Hogwarts students average O.W.L. score in History of Magic during his tenure has been Dreadful. The new History of Magic teacher will be introduced at the welcoming feast. Students being respectful of their fellow students is also being emphasized. Any student who uses the four letter word starting with u and ending with y or the eight letter word staring with m and ending with d will automatically be banned from all Hogsmeade visits and extracurricular activities for the remainder of the semester in which they use those offensive words. Hogwarts has also now banned the use of secondhand wands. Mr. Olivander is absolutely telling the truth when he says that the wand chooses the wizard and that you can never get as good a result from a wand that hasn't chosen you as one that has. This rule shall be known as the Neville Longbottom rule. Mr. Longbottom has struggled in his time as a Hogwarts student and his use of his father's wand is the primary reason why. Mr. Longbottom's paternal grandmother Augusta, who is his guardian, has said she wants Neville to use Frank's way as a way of paying tribute to Frank. While that sounds nice in theory, Mr. Longbottom has been deprived of an opportunity to reach his full magical potential due to not using a wand of his own. Any student who has been using a secondhand wand should visit Mr. Olivander before term starts to acquire a wand that has chosen him or her. A fund will be set up for underprivileged Hogwarts students who require financial assistance in purchasing new wands. You should receive your official Hogwarts letter complete with your schedule for the 1994-1995 school year about a week or two before September 1st. The olld school learning brooms will all also be replaced prior to the start of the fall 1994 semester with a set of brand new Nimbus 2002s. That's all for now.

-Hogwarts Headmaster.

Remus Lupin.

"So, Hogwarts is adding a band as well as a choir, " said Harry approvingly, "I couldn't be happier for the musically gifted students at Hogwarts and the opportunities that the choir and band will provide. I wish I'd have thought of adding a band to go with the choir though."

"You're still indirectly for the band's creation, '" smiled Sirius, "Remus thought of that idea only after you had presented the choir idea first."

"Good on Remus for being so responsive, " said Harry brightly, "It's nice that we now have a Headmaster of Hogwarts who actually cares about his students."

"No question about that, " agreed Sirius, "Remus was always a great kid with a huge heart in his Hogwarts days and he hasn't changed."

"I HAVE noticed, " said Harry, "That students in sixth and seventh years are significantly less interested in Hogsmeade visits than students below sixth year. Yes, the novelty DOES wear off after so many visits, but it is also true that some things are more fun when you're younger."

"When I was in school, " explained Sirius, "The Hogsmeade visit participation rate dropped noticeably once we hit sixth year. I was one of the few who actually took all available Hogsmeade visits as a sixth year and a seventh year, but most students had lost interest by then. On the other hand, I would think most second years would be thrilled to go into Hogsmeade."

"Totally agreed, " said Harry matter of factly, "I think I might actually be one of those to take all of the Hogsmeade visits like you were, but we're not taking away anyone's opportunities, only adding some."

"And I'm glad Remus thought to get rid of Binns, " said Sirius seriously, "Knowledgeable about your subject or not, as a teacher you bear the burden of responsibility for the performance of your students in your subject."

"Having a ghost teacher was questionable at best anyway, " added Harry, "And thank goodness Remus is implementing a ban on the two most offensive words in English"

"HELL YES! yelled Sirius, "During my time at Hogwarts, there was a certain faction of students who used such words on a regular basis."

"Even today, " said Harry fiercely, "A few too many Hogwarts students have a propensity for the uses of the "u" word and the "m" word. Hell, even one student using those offensive words is one too many."

"Exactly, " said Sirius firmly, "I'm glad to see meaningful punishments being attached to the use of those two words."

"Especially since the use of those words has too often gone entirely unpunished in the past, " finished Harry.

"What do you know about Mr. Longbottom's situation?" Sirius asked Harry.

"I've never had much to do with him personally, but he HAS always been one of the worst students in our your expect for being the top student of the year in Herbology, " answered Harry, "Though I didn't know he was using a second hand wand."

"It's surprising to me that Neville Longbottom would be one of the worst students in your year, " explained Sirius in a businesslike voice, "Frank and Alice were in my year at Hogwarts though neither I nor anyone in my circle ever had much to do with them. But they were amongst the most magically gifted students in my year and magical power tends to be passed down through family lines. I'm not saying that Neville should be expected to be the top student in the class or that his magical abilities should automatically be expected to rival that of his parents. But witches and wizards who are born to parents with strong magic almost always have strong magic themselves. That magic may be somewhat stronger or somewhat weaker than that of their parents, but someone born to two magically strong parents should NEVER be amongst the worst in the class. Herbology is wandless magic so it's suspicious to me that Neville would be top of the year in Herbology but otherwise be a poor student."

"Well, it seems likely that Neville would be a much better student with a wand that has chosen him, though I can't see him being better than Hermione in anything other than Herbology, " concluded Harry.

"I can't believe that Hogwarts has allowed the use of secondhand wands all these years, " mused Sirius, shaking his head disbelievingly, "Olivander has always been clear about the wand choosing the wizard. "

"It'll be interesting to see how Neville performs with a proper wand this coming school year, " said Harry with a look of curiosity on his face, "I suspect he will become a much better wizard. "

"Now, " smirked Sirius, "Time few a little evening entertainment."

Next nanosecond, Sirius called his four house elves by name.

"Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde!" called Sirius.

The four house elves appeared in the kitchen where Harry and Sirius were still sitting at the table.

"Show Harry your trick!" ordered Sirius.

The house elves were each wearing a different colored towel. Blinky's was red, Pinky's was pink, Inky's was cyan, and Clyde's was orange.

Upon Sirius's order to show Harry their trick, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde performed a little charm that made the color of their towels change to blue. After about a minute, the towels flashed white and went back to their normal colors.

"Cool!" said a delighted Harry.